NXN-NY / NE Previews And Projections Highlight Strong Races

NXN-NE Girls Individuals

Breakdown: This is an interesting matchup at the top of the rankings here.  Because of the way New Jersey is set up, their top two athletes have not faced off yet this season.  Charlotte Bednar is the top seed here both because of her stellar showing at Manhattan, but also because she finished 12th overall at NXN.  However, Chloe Gonzalez ran a faster time than Bednar in the merge at Shore Coaches, the only time they raced in the same meet, on the same day.  Also, Gonzalez beat Bednar in this same Regional in 2018.  The pair will settle the Garden State business at Bowdoin.

Behind them, the 2018 Pennsylvania State Champ Jenna Mulhern will see a similar situation with Lydia Russell, who is a private school athlete.  Both are evenly matched, and have never faced each other in XC.  Splitting the pair is 2019 Massachusetts State Champ Carmel Fitzgibbon, as well as PA Bronze Medalist, Gianna Quarzo.

The wildcard here is Camryn Wennersten.  She was just a stride off Gonzalez at Shore Coaches, but finished mid-pack in her State and MOC races.  With a team placing on the line for Ridgewood, she could rebound with a big race here.